


Anchor

by thistlesNthings



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-11
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-21 21:30:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8261048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thistlesNthings/pseuds/thistlesNthings
Summary: Tenzo lived a difficult and strict life in the Foundation orphanage. But after an odd encounter with infamous Kakashi Hatake he is transferred to the ANBU Foster Home. How will Tenzo cope with the sudden change? Will he learn the importance of friendship, how to feel? Or will he trap himself in the test tube of the past?





	

 

The sponge's rough texture grated against Tenzo's small hands, making them feel sore and tender but he didn't stop scrubbing at the delicate plate. Lest he suffer a stern scolding from Danzo. The chores the children of the Foundation Orphanage were given would be seen as "harsh" by many. Tenzo did not mind his chores at all. He was young, only eleven, and had a habit of blindly following whoever showed him the smallest ounce of care. So when Danzo found Tenzo barely clinging to life the young boy devoted all his loyalty to the elder, regardless of the fact that Danzo saw him and all the other children as tools.

 

"Tenzo?" A feminine voice pulled the young boy from the dirty dishes. 

 

The voice belonged to another kid that lived in the Foundation.

 

"Danzo said I must take over the dishes and you have to attend to the plants outside".

 

A smile stretched across Tenzo's face. He dropped the sponge into the sink, dried his hands and restrained himself from running out into the garden.

 

The smell of wet grass greeted Tenzo and welcomed him to the garden. This had always been Tenzo's favourite place. Huge oaks trees stretched out towards the sky, their branches dancing in the wind and waving at Tenzo like an old friend.

 

Tenzo walked over to a tree and ran his hands over the bark. It was worn by age, held scars from days long past, chipped and battered by the raging winds, yet the tree would not fall. It held its ground, driving its roots deeper into the earth, Trees were strong, and that's all Tenzo ever wanted to be.

 

The young boy stepped back, taking in the magnificent beast of nature then walked away.

 

His small, yet sturdy hands rummaged for the rusted watering can, filled it from the outside tap and waddled over to the plants in front of the hedges. The diverse colours coaxed another smile from Tenzo and lured him closer. They had blossomed well making Danzo pleased with the boy, allowing him to be trusted with more time in the garden. He thanked them with fresh water, soaking their soil. As he went to stroke a petal his finger was punctured by a thorn, blood dripped slowly from the wound. With a gasp, Tenzo attempted to cover his wound with his shirt.

 

"Ouch, looks like you need to be more careful"

 

The bored voice startled the young boy. He snapped his head up and was met by a pair of dark, almost black, drooped eyelids.

 

"Yo"

 

The casual greeting came from a tall, lanky teen, slouched over the hedge. His hair was oddly grey and spiked upwards, leaning left and seemed to rebel against gravity. He wore a large surgical mask over the lower part of his face, adding to the mysterious aura that seemed to surround him.

 

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" The tall boy raised an eyebrow at Tenzo. His gaze seemed lazy and uncaring yet his eyes held sharp intelligence.

 

"Uh, who are you?" Tenzo was careful with his words, intimidated by the sudden appearance of this unnamed person.

 

"Kakashi Hatake, at your service" He lifted two fingers to his head and gave the younger boy a small salute. 

 

"And who are you little gardener?"

 

"Tenzo" He stated simply. Still wary of the new presence, Tenzo placed the old watering can on the ground near the flower bed and stood up, brushing the dirt from his knees.

 

 Kakashi seemed to consider this for a moment, as if trying to solve a mystery. A silence stretched between them for a few minutes as the boys studied one another. Tenzo stared up whilst Kakashi glanced down. A deep breath escaped from Kakashi's hidden lips as he stood up straight and stretched his arms above his head.

 

"Well, it was nice meeting you kid. Have fun with your plants" As soon as Kakashi had spoken he walked away as suddenly and quickly as he had appeared. 

 

"Oh, bye then" Tenzo muttered, Kakashi too far to hear him.

 

The experience with the elder boy had confused him. He rarely met people that were outside of the Foundation. He wasn't well practiced with interacting socially with anyone, so used to simply being ordered about. No one usually passed by anyway, the large house of the Foundation was tucked away at the quiet side of town so no one usually had reason to come here, adding to the mystery of Kakashi.

 

_'Scarecrow... What an odd name'._

 

Tenzo took a deep breath and exhaled, watching as his breath lifted into the air and swirled, fading into the nothing. He glanced down at the plants then his finger, wiped away the dried blood and continued to water the plants before Danzo shouted at him for procrastinating. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Apologises for the short chapter, I plan on adding more detail in the future. I'll be adding more to this chapter as I go along.


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